Tool for clinching hog rings



Jan. 13, 1959 P. R. VAN lTrl-:R'T 2,867,808l

Toor. Fon cLmcHING Hoc RINGS Fild Dec. 12, 1955 s sheets-sheet 1 Jan. 13, 1959 P. R. VAN slTTERT 2,867,808

Toor. FOR CLINCHING Hoc RINGS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12, 1955 m mm mvo i vm E. f. w om Nm 4m. mm vm 2 mm INVENToR. PAUL R. VAN SITTERT ,7i/HM?, VW v f rrooL Fon CLINCHLNG HoG RINGS Paul R. Van Sittert, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Rotor T ool Company, a corporation of Ohio Application December 12, 1955, Serial No. 552,332

s Claims. (C1. 1--1s7) This invention relates in general to a tool for clinc'hing hog rings and more particularly to a tool which may be actuated by a power motor. j

`A type of tool to which the invention relates is shown in Patent No. 2,656,539, issued on October 27, 1953.` In general, this type of tool comprises a power motor, a clinching mechanism 'actuated by the power motor and a feed magazine to feed hog rings to the clinching mechanism. This invention constitutes an improvement over the clinching mechanism and the feed magazine shown in the above mentioned patent.

An object of the invention is the provision of a clockspring to cooperate with the feed magazine vfor feeding hog rings to the clinching mechanism.

Another 'object of the invention is the provision in the clinching mechanism of opposed guide grooves which constitute a discharge path through which the rings pass prior to entering the clinching grooves of the jaws, the guide grooves Ibeing in longitudinal alignment with the clinching grooves andI lying in substantially the same plane.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an anvil member constituting aback-up support'to'therin'g as it is being closed by the clinching jaws.

Another object of the invent-ion is the provisionr in the rclinching mechanism of a back-up anvil disposedI to move laterally into the' discharge path subsequent to the passage of a ring into the eline-hing grooveswhereby the anvil constitutes a back-up' support for the ring as'Y it is being closed by the clinching jaws.

Another object of the invention isv the provision of a back-up anvil member disposed along the' side 'of the lever members and resiliently urged to move laterally into the arent discharge path of the ring, the back-up anvil member having cam surface' means engageable -by av ring as it .passes through the discharge path' whereby the anvily member is pushed laterally to one side of lthe discharge path t`o admit -the ring intof the clinchin'g grooves of the' jaws.

Another objecty of the invention-is the provisio-nof roll means comprising first and second` rollers located between* the opposed lever members of the' clinching mechanismfor actuating theclinching jaws together for closing the ring,` the rollers being inperipheralcont-actz rel-ationshipwith each other.

Another object' of the invention-is the provision of roll means in peripheral contact relationship'with eachother and adapted to roll` against opposing camfsurface-means onthe opposed lever members of the clinching mechanism for actuating the clinchingjawsftogether for closing the Y ring. `Other objectsand-afuller understanding of the invention may be had Yby referring to the followingdescription and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l' is a side view of a clinching tool embodying the invention with'.a'p'ortion shown irisection, the section portion' takenalong the Enel-' of Figure 4, `the clinch-v ing jawsbeing'shown intheir maxi-murnope'n position;

. is moved rearwardly the air behind'the .piston in ch'amlFigure 2 is a'-vie'w showing only the clirichirigniecha- Figure 3 iis van enlarged cross sectional view A takenw'of the upper jaw in Figure 2 showing the position ofthe ring thereinl with the upper jaw in its maximum open posi-` tion; v l

Figure 4 is ya plan view of ythe clinchihgrto'ol with the clinching mechanismx'being shown inpse'ctio'n and taken along the-line 4---41of`Figurey 1; l. v

Figure 5 shows a side view of the clin'cliing mechanism taken along the line 5-#5 of -Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a cross lsectional View of the .clinchin'g mechanism taken along thefline 6-6 of Figure 4;' 1

Figure 7 is a rear end View `of the clinching tool; Figure 8 is a fron-t en'd view of the clinchingtool;

Figure 9 -is a cross sectional and enlarged view Ytaken along the line 9-9 ofi-FigureS; l

Figure 10 -is -an enlargedv perspective view of a 'lever member of the vclinching mechanism; j 'y w' vrFigure ll is a` view of a hog ring shown in its initial open position; and j IFigure 12 is a view ofthe hog ring Iafter it is closed by the tool.

The invention'comprises Igenerz'illy a power'ihotor 15, a l' clinching mechanism 16 actu-ated by the power motor, and a feed'magazine 17 ,adapted't' feed said hogring's 1'8 yof Figure 1l to the clinching mechanisml wherethey shown in Patentl No. 2,656,539 and .may comprise'acy-linder having a-'dividing .pi'ston"33 which 'forms' two opposed chambers `32 and 41; The' valve for coiitrolling the motormay be operatedv by a' triggerlS' which ac'tuatesy a valve plungerV forf selectively controlling the" ow of air to and from the opposed chambers' 32 and 41. Figure 1 shows the trigger Y28,-at restya'nd in' this`jpos`1tion',- airpressurecomes intoan air vinputduct'of thhandleV and ows .through thzeycontrol valve and to the space' 32' behind the piston ljl3g-the-airuinl front of the piston in` chamber 41 being exhausted through 'an exhaust duct inf thel handle. This keeps the-piston in the forward feed po'sition asshown in lFigure l. When the trigger is pushed back, air pressure comes into the air input duct'to" the handle and -ows through theL control Valve and to the chamber 4'1 in front of the piston.' vThis actuates the piston in the rearward power direction and as the piston ber 32 exhausts through the Aair -exhaust duct in the handle.

A forwardnendof thecylinder vfor the power motor is provided with an end cap 50 -to which `are mounted two parallel disposedl side, plates lSland 52 which carry the clinching mechanism'l. The side plates 5 1, and 52 may be connected tothe endcap-S of thecylin'der-by any suitable means. As illustrated in Figure 4 the sidey plates Sland 52 arey mounted on opposite sides of a piston rod 4,6 actuated by the piston 33l As shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, v4 and 11 theclinching mechanism comprisesntwo opposed lever' inembersGly and 61v which are substantially identical but reverse4 to 4each other. Each lever ymember comprises'` a clinc'hirig endportion 64, a power end portion 65'pand an intermediateportion 66l The intermediate portionof the levermembers 60 isA pivota-lly connectedv two side platessland 52 by a pivot Ipin 'G3i The clinch-y Patentecl Jan. A 13,- 195,9

of Figure 4, the clinchj means 69 to to a'maximum position. The lstop means comprise an arcuate surface 78 which theopposed levers engage the piston rod this engagement i' than that of the guide grooves 70 pass each other as the ring is-:being closed. yThe power end portion 65 of the levermembers terminate instop Ilimit the lopening of the clinching jaws 67 v partially sets around the piston `rod 46. Inother words, when Ythe .arcuate surface 73 of The clinching end portion 64 of the'lever members 60 and- .61 haveooposed converging guide grooves 70 in -g ylongitudinal"alignment withltthegclinching grooves 63. The opposed`convergingguide grooves 70 and the opr posed clinching'grooves 68 lie in substantially the same l plane. YThe guide` grooves'70 .have an entrance portion l 71 adjacent the feed magazine'17 to receive a ring fromV the magazine. i i charge which theV rings passV prior grooves 68 of the clinching iaws 67. As shown in Fig. l, l the guide j l theclinching iaws open to their maximum position, have l a. space ,therebetween less than the initial ylength of the rings to give the rings a partial lclosing 'prior to dischargrmgsarne into the clinching grooves 68. The space be- The guide groovesv 70-converge to a dis- Dortion 72 constituting adischarge path through to entering the clinching grooves 70. atthedischarge portion 72 with tween theooposed clinching grooves 68 is slightly greater at discharge portion 72 bv an amountof a few thousandths of an inch where- ;by lthe clinchingggrooves 68 andthe guide groovesr 70 `at the discharge portion 72 define juncture shoulder means73. seeFigure 3. The iuncture'sho'ulder means 73 keepsV the ring after it isdeliveredto the clinching grooves 68 from moving back into the discharge portion 72. y v i Disposed in alignment with .the guide Ygrooves and adapted Vto move therein is a reciprocable member 74 ywhich isi actuated in l a forward feed direction and'in a rearward power direction bv the piston rod 46. The reciprocable member 74 ly due to its normal resiliency sothat the juncture shoulder means 73 keeps the ring from moving back into the discharge portion 72. In actual practice, the width between the opposed clinching7 grooves of the clinching iaws `67V may beV approximately from .005 inch to .020 inch larger than the space between the opposed guide grooves 70 at the discharge portion 72. The range from .0053

inch to .020 inchmaybe'dened as a few thousandths of an inch. As show 80 is mounted alongside of the discharge portion 72 of the guide grooves 70. Resilient means in a form of a n in Figures l to 5, a back-up anvil `senses of a pin 84 which loosely tits into an opening 85 in the end of the supporting plate 52. The bottom of the pin 84 is securely fastenedv to the vback-up anvil 80 such as by brazing or other means. As yillustrated in Figure 4, the back-up anvil has a stepped shoulder 83 into which the end of the supporting plate 52 fits. The leaf spring 81 has its left-hand end fastened under the cap nuts on the pivot pins about which the-opposed lever'members operate.` The right-hand end of the leaf spring is free to swing and is disposed to resiliently urge the backalp anvil into the discharge path of a movingv ring. Y The leaf spring 81 has a hole therein throughwhich the pin 84 extends. The upper end ofthe pin 84 has a groove into guide grooves 70 at thel l terminates in" pusher'abutment sur- `faces 75 which are adapted to push a ring from the en- This pushing leaf spring 81 may be employed toflaterally urge the anvil Y Lmember 80 into the dischargepath of a ring moving in the discharge portion 72 of the guide grooves 70. The rear of the back-up anvil 80 isprovidecl with cam surface 82 and is engageable by a rngfas it passes through the discharge portion 72Awhereby` theanvilrmember 80 is pushed laterally to one sideof mit the ring into the clinching tothe passage of the ring,

the Vdischargepath to ad# the `resilient means 81 laterally vgrooves 68. Subsequent moves the` anvil back into the discharge path landi constltute aback-up support to the ring as it is being closed by the clinching jaws.

The back-upanvil `is adapted to rock or be pivotally 'connected to the end of the supporting plate 52 by means.

which a split snap ring 76 rits, the ring being on top of the leaf spring 81. When a hog ring engages the cam surface means 82 on the back side of the back-up anvil, the back-up anvil hinges or rocks about the stepped shoulder 83 at the point where it engages the end of the supporting plate 52.

The power end portionA 65 of the lever members is adapted to be spread apart by roll means 88. In actual practice the roll means comprises aset of rolls pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the reciprocable member 74. A first set of roll means is shown in Figure l and comprises rollers 89 and 90 which make peripheral contact with each other. On the opposite'side of the reciprocable member is a second set of rolls, see Figure 6, and are identified as 91 and 92. In other words, the two sets of roll means are mounted on opposite sides of the reciprocable member 74. The roll means are located between the power end portion 65 of the opposed lever members. As shown in Figure l, the opposed lever men1- bers have inner converging cam surfaces 94 against which the roll means engage upon actuation of the reciprocable member in a rearward power direction. The reciprocable member 74 carries the roll means therewith and forces the roll means against the opposed converging cam sur face 94 of the power end portion 65 of the lever members for actuating the clinching jaws together for closing -member 21 by depressing the latches 22 so that the rings may pass over theV nibs 23 which ordinarily extend beyond the sides of the channel member 21. The latches 22 are normally biased outwardly by a spring 24. In mounting a ring onto the end of the channel member, it is only necessary to press the spring by operating the exposed plunger 19 therebyfdepressing the nibs 23 so that the rings may pass thereover on to the channel member 21.

The plurality of rings on the channel member 21 may be urged forwardly towards the clinching mechanism 16 by means of. a follower 25 which is urged against the last ring by means of a clock-spring 26. The left-hand end of the clock-spring 26 which is in the form of a rib# bon 27 is fastened to the follower 2S. The object of a clock-spring is to provide a reasonable constant feed pressure on the rings throughout a long extended travel of the follower 25. Asillustrated, the follower` 25 is ,is mounted in a housing 31 clinching same.

which may be suitably mounted to the side of the clinching mechanism. The forward end of the guide track 20 may beisecured to the housing 31 and the'rearward end portion of the'guide track may be suitably secured to the power motor such as by a screw 47.

As shown in Figure 4, the channel member 421 of the feed magazine may be fastened to the side plate 51 by means of a magazine plug 30 into which two opposed screws 34 and 35 are mounted, see Figure 4. The upper end 95 of the plug 30 is disposed to rest against the side of the reciprocable member 74 and has its upper lefthand corner 93 chamfered to provide a cam surface against which a ring engages as it is pushed by the reciprocable member 74. The lower end 96' of the magazine plug is adapted to be secured to the end of the channel member 21'. The magazine plug has an intermediate opening 42 between the upper and lower ends 95 and 96, see Figmre 5, into which a tongue 44 of a mounting plate 36 extends. The mounting plate 36 is held against the side of the supporting side plate 51 by the head of the pivot means which support the opposed levers 60 and 61. A spring 48 is disposed between the tongue 44and the upper screw 34. The spring 4S urges the upper end 95 of the magazine plug against the sidev of the reciprocable member. The two screws 34 and 35 may be provided with end sockets so that they may be adjustably turned by a socket tool within the magazine plug to adjust the mounting position of the magazine plug 30. The socket tool has access to the upper screw 34 through aligned openings 97 and 98 of clinching tool and has access to the lower screw 35 through the open side of the channel 21. The arrangement is such that the magazine plug 30 is slightly resiliently and pivotally mounted to the supporting side plate 51. As the reciprocable plunger 74 pushes a ring oif the end of the magazine plug 30, the plug under the compression of the spring 48 slightly moves away from the lever members as the ring passes thereunder. After the ring is pushed into the converging opposed guide grooves 70, the magazine plug 30 rides on the side of the reciprocable member 74.

In operation, let it tbe assumed that the trigger 28 is at rest and that air under pressure is delivered to the chamber 32 of the power motor in which case the piston 33 is moved to the right, which is the end of the forward feed stroke of the reciprocable member 74. This is in the position shown in Figure 1 of the drawing. A ring is in the clinching jaws 67 and is ready to be clinched. The back-up anvil 80 is in the rear of the ring in a position to back up the ring as it is clinched.

The clinching operation is effected by pulling the trigger 28 which delivers air under pressure tothe chamber 41 of the air motor and which moves the piston 33 to the left which is designated as the rearward power stroke. Upon the movement of the piston to the left, the sets of rollers engage the converging cam surfaces 94 on the inner side of the power end portion 65 of the opposed lever members 60 and 61. This rearward movement of the sets of rollers spreads the power end portion 65 of the levers and closes the jaws 67 about the ring for As the reciprocable member 74 is moved to the left and clears the end of the feed magazine 17, another ring is urged into the entrance portion 71 of the opposed guide groove 7b, see Figure 2. Upon release of the trigger 28 the piston 33 moves to the right, which is designated as the forward feed stroke and the pusher abutment surfaces 75 on the end of the reciprocable member 74 push the ring into the converging opposed guide grooves 70 to give the ring a partial closing before it is delivered to the clinching grooves 68 in the jaws 67. Also, as the reciprocable member 74 moves to the right, the sets of rollers move therewith and permits the arcuate surfaces 78, constituting the stop means 69, to engage the piston rod 46vto limit the maximum opening of the jaws 67. As the Aring enters the clinching grooves v68 the ring resiliently expands and lodgesbehind th'e juncture shoulder means 73, which keeps the ring from sliding back into the opposed guide groove 70 at the discharge portion 72. While the ringis passing through the discharge path at the discharge portion 72, the ring engages the cam surface means 82 and pushes the back-up anvil laterally to one side of the discharge path of the ring moving in the discharge portion. Subsequent to the passage of the ring, the back-up anvil moves back into the discharge path as shown in Figure 3. The anvil 80 ts in a slot 79 at the end of the'reciprocable member 7 4. Also, the lever-members having a portion 87 removed, see Figure l0, to provide space for the anvil 80. The ring now is in position to be clinched and this may be done by pulling the trigger to start another cycle of operation.

Although this invention has been described in itsprej ferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. In a tool for clinching hog rings the combination of first and second side plates, first and second opposed ring clinching members pivotally mounted by said first and second side platesfor movement between open and closed positions, wall means in said clinching members defining converging ring guide grooves having a discharge portion, clinching grooves continuing from said discharge portion, juncture shoulder means formed at the inter'sec`- tion of said discharge portion and said clinching grooves, the distance between said clinching grooves Ibeing slightly greater than the distance between said juncture shoulder means, said grooves defining a path of travel for said rings, said guide grooves and said clinching grooves lying substantially in the same plane, a single back-up anvil pivotally secured to said first side plate and having a portion movable into and out of said path of travel, said portion being located substantially midway between said guide grooves in said opposed members at said discharge portion, a spring member urgingsaid back-upanvil into said path of travel, said back-up anvil having a cam surface, a push member for moving rings through said guide grooves and into said clinching grooves, said push member having a recessed portion for avoiding said back-up anvil, said rings adapted to engage said cam surface of said back-up anvil in traveling through said path to move said anvil out of said path and permit passage of said rings to said clinching grooves.

2. In a tool for clinching rings the combination of first and second side plates, first and second opposed ring clinching members pivotally mounted by said first and second side plates for movement between open and closed positions, Wall means in said clinching members defining ring guide grooves terminating in clinching grooves, said grooves defining a path of travel for said rings, said ring guide grooves and said clinching grooves lying substantially in the same plane, a back-up anvil secured to said first side plate and having a portion movable into 'and out of -said path of travel, said portion being located substantially between said grooves in said opposed members, spring means urging said back-upv anvil into said path of travel, a push member for moving rings through said guide grooves and into said clinching grooves, said rings adapted to engage said back-up anvil in traveling through said path to move said anvil out of said path and permit passage of said rings to said clinching grooves.

3. In a tool for clinching rings the combination of side plate means, first and second opposed and pivotally mounted ring clinching members movable between open and closed positions, wall means in-said clinching memclinching grooves.

bers defining ring guide'groov'es which Yterminate in l clinching grooves, said grooves defining a path of travel for said rings, said4 guide grooves and said clinching grooves lying substantially in the same plane, a back-up anvil securedV to said side plate means and havingv'a portion movable into and out of said path of travel, said portion being located intermediate saidY grooves 1n said opposed members, means urging said back-up anvil into said path of travel, a push member for moving rings l through said guide groovesy and Vinto v said clinching grooves, said rings adapted to engage said back-up anvil in traveling'through said path tovmove said anvil out of said path and permit passage of said rings to. said 4. In a tool for clinching rings the combination of side plate means, lirst and second opposed and pivotally mounted ring clinching members movable between open and closed positions, wall means in said clinching memp bers dening ring guidek grooves Awhich terminate in n l clinching grooves, said grooves defining a path of travel for said rings, said guide grooves and said clinching grooves lying substantially in the same plane, a back-up anvil secured to said side plate means andfhaving a por- `tion movable into and out of said path of travel, said portion being located intermediate said grooves in said opposed members, spring means urging said back-up anvil 1 into said path of travel, a push member for moving rings through said guide grooves` and into said clinching grooves.

5. In a tool for clinching rings the combination of side plate means, first and second ring `clinching members pivotally mounted by said side plate 'means' for movement between open and closed positions, wall meansinsaid clnchingmembers defining vring guide grooves which terminate in clinching grooves, junctureshoulder means between V'said ring guideV grooves Vand said clinching grooves, the distancebetween said clinching grooves being slightly greater than the distance between said juncture shoulder means, said grooves defining a path 'of travel forsaid rings, said guide grooves and said clinching grooves lying substantially in the same plane, a back-up anvil secured to said side plate means and having a portion movable into and out of said path of travel,. said a portion being located intermediatev said grooves in said References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

